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KEEPING THE LAWN 



BY 
LEONARD pARRON 

Editor The Garden Magazine 



PUBLISHED BY 

COLDWELL LAWN MOWER CO. 
NEWBURGH, N. Y. 






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m 10/92/ 



Copyright, 1921, by 

Coldwell Lawn Mower Company 

Newburgh, N. Y. 



CU623055 



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^HE lawn Is the dominant, characteristic feature of the 
American home garden. You may have the spread 
.^^^, of green grass and nothing else and get a fairly 
L.v__^ pleasing setting for the house, but never a satisfying 
home from the latter without the lawn. It Is almost a platitude, 
yet It Is something to be considered by every home builder. 

The lawn Is Indeed the essential base of the country, suburban 
or rural home. It distinguishes the "country" from the "city" 
with Its paved yards and asphalted approaches. The lawn 
pleases the eye and It gives to the mind that sense of relaxation 
and repose which Is looked for In all places away from the city 
Itself. It has been well likened to the canvas on which the artist 
paints his picture; for when the landscape gardener comes to the 
problem of planting and embellishing the home grounds with an 
appropriate selection of trees, shrubs, and flowers his first con- 
sideration Is the lawn. Its place, extent, and the support it gives 
to the property as a whole. Without the lawn no garden worthy 
the name! 

In view of the supreme importance of the lawn, then, an 
understanding of Its upkeep is most desirable. And the delight 
of It is that there is nothing mysterious, nothing very onerous 
in keeping a lawn good. 

Maintenance consists of a few simple details: rolling, cutting, 
watering, and feeding, and with a lawn properly made the most 
Important of these Is the cutting. In the old days this was done 
by a scythe, an effective instrument In the hands of the expert 
worker, but otherwise extremely unsatisfactory. 



The invention of the lawn mower, less than a hundred years 
ago, marks one of those eras of progress that works revolution. 
Grass must be cut continuously throughout its growing season 
if the lawn is to retain the perfection of velvety evenness that is 
today within the possibility of every lawn owner, and this cutting 
can be accomplished easily in a definite way by means of the 
modern lawn mower, the credit for which in its present day form 
must be given to Thomas Coldwell, who somewhere about i860 
began his improvements on the original foreign-made model 
imported by Mr. H. W. Sargent for his extensive gardens at 
Fishkill, N. Y., directly across the Hudson River from Newburgh. 
Thus was laid the foundation of an industry that has pro- 
gressed by rapid strides to this day when there are available lawn 
mowers in a multitude of types and sizes, hand-operated, horse- 
drawn and motor driven, a size and style to fit every size and 
style of garden and lawn to the most extensive country estate, 
park, and golf course. 

So accustomed are we of this day to see the well-mown lawn 
in the typical residential districts of our suburb and country- 
side that but little thought is given to the part played in the 
development of the lawn by the lawn mower having superceded 
the scythe. 

Perhaps because the modern lawn mower does its work so 
well, — is such an efficient tool in operation, -^there is a certain 
tendency among some gardeners to cut too close to the roots of 
the grass. Frequent mowings to keep the growth under proper 
control adds to the beauty of any lawn in keeping up a uniformly 
"well-kept" look. Irregular mowing leads to an unkempt 
irregular appearance of the turf because of the likelihood of put- 
ting off the job of cutting, on one pretext or another, until the 
grass has become unduly long. 



When cut In that condition the exposed surface is brownish in 
color and thin looking — having none of the appearance of fresh 
grass. 

The first cutting in spring as the season opens may well be 
deferred as long as possible in order to get a good growth started; 
and because in the early spring the uncertain fluctuations of the 
weather — from hot to cold and back again seemingly without any 
system — is likely to leave the newly exposed roots and lower 
parts of the grass stalks open to the burning rays of a sudden 
burst of extra strong heat. 

But once the cutting is begun the work is to be kept up at fre- 
quent, fairly regular intervals to keep an uniform appearance to 
the grass. Cutting the grass has direct benefits, too, in that it 
prevents the grass plants from going to seed, and induces them 
to push up blades of fresh green in a dense mat that gives the 
so called desired velvety appearance. 

Particularly is this des'rable in the case of grass areas close 
around the house, on tennis or croquet lawns, and on grass edg- 
ings to walks, flower beds and borders. 

After the first cutting in the season the grass will, as a rule, 
need cutting about once a week, and in some cases when the 
growing conditions are very favorable in the height of the season 
perhaps more frequently. As a matter of fact, judgment must 
be exercised here, the object being to keep the grass as nearly as 
possible at an uniform height. 

The height of the cut is easily determined by a simple adjust- 
ment of the mower. About two inches is most satisfactory for 
the best interests of the grass itself — but a more well kept 
appearance may be desired and a much closer cut adopted. But 
the closer the cut the more feeding and other attention the lawn 
will need. But whatever height is determined, let the machine 







— |. 




be set to that height and kept there, and regularly run over the 





lawn about once a week, and a constantly neat greensward is 
assured. 

At the same time there need be no arbitrary "mowing day," 
and a longer or shorter interval may be allowed according to 
circumstances. If for any reason the grass has been permitted 
to get unduly long it may be better to use a scythe and not cut 
very close, thus avoiding exposure of the under-texture of the turf. 

The ideal day for cutting the grass is dull and cloudy — then 
the grass actually cuts more easily, and the little plants do not 
suffer any shock from the "pruning." 

With the knives all properly set the mower really keeps itself 
sharp while in use. The adjustment may be tested by inserting 
a piece of writing paper against the bottom knife and revolving 
the blades by hand, in this way testing the entire cutting surface. 
Improperly adjusted and blunt knives result in an irregular 
surface of the lawn or results in so pulling the little grass plants 
as to loosen the roots. This may later on in a hot spell cause 
the death of the grass plant. 

When using the lawn mower begin at one side of the lawn, 
pushing steadily forward at a brisk walking pace and traveling 
in a straight line to the opposite end of the lawn, thus making a 
clean straight strip of cut grass. Then return on a parallel strip 
with one of the guide wheels a couple of inches inside the pre- 
viously cut strip. And so continue to the finish. This assures 
a perfect job and obviates leaving little uncut tufts here and 
there over the lawn which are certain to result from any irregular 
criss-cross manner of working. The next time of cutting start at 
the opposite end or at right angles. 

Some lawn mowers have a provision for catching the clip- 
pings as they are thrown up by the revolving knives, when this 



is desired, and some way of gathering these clippings becomes 
necessary if the grass be allowed to become unduly long before 
It is cut. If there is no gathering box such clippings must be 
removed by raking, for which purpose a wooden rake is prefer- 
able to an ordinary garden rake. But as a general rule it will 
not be necessary or desirable to gather the clippings, but rather 
let them lie where they fall to act as a light mulch and protec- 
tion to the grass. The short clippings which are likely to be 
the rule from a regularly cut lawn are thus distinctly beneficial 
to the grass plants. Only In extreme cases where the cuttings 
are very heavy should they be removed. 

Next to cutting, rolling Is the most important detail In keep- 
ing up the appearance of the lawn but, unlike cutting, rolling 
can generally be dispensed with after the season is well open. 
The purpose of rolling Is to ensure a good contact between the 
roots of the grass plants and the soil In which they are growing, 
and there Is a certain benefit from the use of a mower which Is 
also equipped with a roller. 

The degree of rolling of necessity will vary according to the 
soil, being greater In the case of a heavy soil than in one of a 
light, sandy nature. The action of alternations of frost and 
thaw during the winter results In loosening the roots of the plants 
In their hold on the soil and the effect of rolling is to compact 
this loosened mass of roots and soil and to maintain this condi- 
tion so that as the plant grows it can draw its proper supply of 
nourishment from the ground. 

In public parks and wherever great stretches of lawn exist 
the cutting Is usually done by means of a machine of consider- 
able size, horse drawn or motor driven. Such machines have 
rollers as Integral parts and consequently the separate rolling 
operation may usually be dispensed with. But on the small 



hand-cut lawn preliminary rolling at the beginning of the season 
is a very important factor in its future welfare. 

The only limit of weight of a roller that shall be used is the 
convenience of the person working it; in other words, the heavier 
the better. In actual service a three hundred pound roller is 
about the limit of a strong man's capacity, but a thousand pound 
weight would not be too heavy for the welfare of the lawn. 
The further advantage of the heavy roller is that apparently it 
prevents the establishment of the Crab Grass. A new lawn will 
need more rolling in its early stages than an old lawn. 

Top dressing before rolling is useful in two ways; first, in 
helping to fill irregularities of the surface so as to restore a per- 
fectly level stretch, and secondly, in actually carrying food sup- 
plies to the growing plants. 

This top dressing may consist of finely sifted garden soil into 

which some bone dust has been mixed in the proportion of about 
four to one. This mixture may be lightly scattered over the 
surface by taking a shovelful at a time and distributing it by a 
broad sweep and then rolling it in where it falls. 

Proper watering of the lawn is one of the least understood 
things in its up-keep if we would judge of general results seen 
in our suburban districts. The truth is that too many people 
approach the question of watering from the point of view of the 
picture a sprinkler makes rather than an understanding of the 
needs of the plants and their growing demands. 

There is one simple guiding principle to be borne in mind 
whenever watering a lawn is considered. When water is given 
let it be given in sufficient quantity to literally give a thorough 
soaking. Too much emphasis cannot be put on this fact. Mere 
sprinkling which dampens the surface is not watering, and no 
matter how charmingly delightful the delicate spray of water 



glistening in the sunshine may be to the onlooker, it is in fact 
training the plants into a bad habit. 

Of course, watering can be done by the sprinkling plan if one 
has assurance that sufficient water is allowed to flow — if the 
sprinkling arrangement is allowed to stand sufficiently long in one 
place to absolutely soak the surface over which it plays. 

Light sprinklings have a tendency to draw the roots of the 
plants upward in their search for moisture and when such water- 
ing is done early in the season and the season itself is dry, the 
plants so treated fall easy victims to a spell of hot sunshine dur- 
ing midsummer drought. 

There can be no calendar of watering, no time-table on which 
to work. Watering the lawn, as in all other garden operations, 
is a matter of adjustment to conditions. It will vary with the 
soil, with the sub-soil, and with the situation. It may be neces- 
sary to begin watering in April some years, but in others it will 
hardly be necessary to water at all. 

All surface sprinklings do, however, accomplish something; 
in that they check transpiration of water from the grass leaves 
and from the surface of the ground for a short time, and in that 
way sprinkling in very hot weather may be palliated but must 
be followed up as soon as possible by an application of water 
that will be thorough in every sense of the word. 

The lawn made on a well prepared soil will not need as much 
water as one made on a poor soil or one that is of insufficient 
depth. A lawn perfectly prepared, made on good soil, of good 
depth, and not unduly drained should hardly need water at all; 
but the fact is that most of us have to take our lawns as we 
find them and on light shallow soils watering is a real necessity. 

When water is supplied by the hose remove the nozzle, lay 
the open end of the hose on the ground, and allow the water to 



flow freely in one spot about an hour. Be careful that there is 
not too much pressure. If there be any danger of the flow of 
water wearing a channel into the soil place a piece of board on 
the lawn, laying the open end of the hose on this to distribute 
the water. When the lawn does need water give it day or night 
or both. 

There is no real foundation for the fear sometimes expressed 
of watering in the sunshine. The only possible injury that 
could result is a slight burning of some of the tender tips through 
the sun's rays being focused through pendant drops of water as 
in a burning glass. But such injury would not be any more 
noticeable than the browning and shrivelling of the cut edge of 
a blade of grass that occurs whenever the lawn mower is passed 
over it and that is so small as to be hardly recognizable in ordi- 
nary circumstances. Water whenever and wherever it is needed. 
Better the welfare of the entire plant than the temporary welfare 
of an individual leaf! 

As the lawn ages its food supply must be maintained. Obvi- 
ously, the right way to keep the lawn green is to so make it in 
the first place that it has all its necessary stock of food in the 
soil for a number of years; but surface dressings may be used to 
maintain growth. Corn cannot be expected from an unfed land 
and yet corn land is cultivated annually. Grass is a permanent 
crop enduring for many years and really needs richer feeding 
than the vegetable garden. But does it get it? It does not, 
because of the tendency of weak humanity to take a chance on 
the present and defer trouble as long as possible. 

After the lawn is once made it can be fed only through surface 
dressings and the lighter the soil and more sandy, the greater the 
demand for fertilizers. On such soils dressings of well decayed 
stable manure will give better results than anything else. On 



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heavy soils chemical fertilizers are equally satisfactory. The 
latter have the advantage, and great advantage, of being free 
from weeds. Stable manure nearly always carries In weed seeds. 
This top dressing may be put on In the fall as a mulch or it may 
be spread on any time during winter, even when the ground Is 
covered with snow. 

Tobacco stems are often used, and being free from weed 
seeds, answer the purpose very well. Pulverized sheep manure 
as sold from the stock yards is also free from weed seeds and may 
be used with Impunity, 

Chemical fertilizers are cleaner in appearance and, in fact, 
have more concentrated food value. Nitrate of soda has long 
been a standby scattered over the surface of the lawn at the 
rate of one to two thousand pounds to the acre. (A plot a 
hundred by twenty-five feet is about a fifteenth of an acre). 
This may be applied just In advance of a rain or It may be first 
of all dissolved in water and applied In solution, which is perhaps 
the more convenient way, using one pound of soda nitrate to 
forty gallons of water. 

Ammonium sulphate, another source of nitrogen, may also be 
used, and it is the experience of most observers that where chemi- 
cals are used better results are obtained by alternating these two 
chemicals. 

In order to keep up the general appearance of the lawn occa- 
sional top dressings to fill in depressions or holes may be made 
any time of the year by good sifted soil from the garden in which 
some bone meal has been mixed. Lawn seed is then scattered 
on the surface and the whole rolled or beaten down. 

In places where wood ashes are available an excellent lawn 
fertilizer Is at hand and may be used in the same manner as the 
chemical fertilizers. 



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Lawns made from the recognized lawn mixtures contain a 
great quantity of blue-grass, which will not grow on a soil show- 
ing an add reaction. Therefore, wood ashes are valuable because 
they supply an alkaline element. 

Lime, that is, agricultural or slacked lime, two bushels to a 
plot one hundred by twenty-five, may be used on any lawn and 
will help to maintain an alkaline soil condition which is essential 
to the production of that blue-green color of the lawn that is the 
acme of perfection of lawn color. 

Unfortunately, weeds will creep Into good lawns and eternal 
vigilance is needed to keep them in control. On an acid soil we 
may have a yellow, poor looking lawn without weeds; or a per- 
fect, blue-green, rich looking stretch of grass with weeds, for, 
curiously, the alkaline condition that makes for good grass also 
encourages the weed plants. 

To suppress them and keep them out requires constant 
vigilance. Broad-leaved weeds can be destroyed by scattering 
sulphate of Iron, which being caught on the broad, outstretched 
leaf, practically burns It and In time kills the plant (It does not 
affect the grass because of the upright habit of growth); but the 
more satisfactory way Is to keep the weeds down by constantly 
cutting out such things as dandelions and rib-grass, as quickly 
^ as they appear, then making good any, hole in the surface and 
i reseeding the bare spot. Dandelions can be kept under control 
by preventing flowering. 

Crab-grass, the pest of very many lawns. Is an annual, the 
seeds of which are carried In by means of birds, chiefly sparrows. 
Where It appears It must be bodily raked up, as the lawn mower 
will not cut It, since It creeps along on the surface of the ground 
below the cut level of the well kept lawn. On account of Its 
manner of growth It must be literally grubbed up by a sharp 



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iron rake. Badly infected lawns should be dug over and remade. 

The presence of moss on the lawn indicates insufficient under 
drainage and is to be remedied only by putting in proper drainage. 
Surface dressings of lime may give temporary relief, but nothing 
more. 

While it is better to dig out rank growing weeds in the fall 
rather than in the spring, still it is better to do it in the spring 
than not at all. Constantly reseeding the surface of the lawn 
with a high grade lawn seed mixture will do much towards keep- 
ing out the weeds because of the mathematical fact that two 
things cannot occupy the same place at the same time. The 
best way to keep out the weeds is to keep in the grass. 

Chick weed is best raked out before it is permitted to flower. 
It can also be controlled by dusting on sulphate of iron. 

Brown patches on the lawn may be produced by diiferent 
causes; one is a fungus which is on the surface and may be con- 
trolled by dusting dry Bordeaux mixture on the affected areas. 
Another source of the brown patch is the working of an under- 
ground grub that cuts through the roots, loosening sheets, as it 
were, of dead turf which may be rolled up. This grub, when not 
very severe, can be controlled by gasoline which will kill it in 
the ground. In very severe cases the lawn must be remade after 
having been plowed and allowed to stand over one winter open 
to frost. This grub Is a large white, fat, sluggish creature, curved 
into a crescent shape. 



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^"^'AKING THE LAWN. The making of a good lawn 
depends on the making of a proper foundation. A 
^1 V 1 <^eep soil such as will make a good vegetable garden 
Jsi, ...,-..._, , is ideal for the lawn. 

If the land is very light and sandy, stable manure or other 
vegetable matter must be introduced. The soil can hardly be 
too rich or too good for a good lawn. 

In a wet situation drain tile, the porous agricultural kind, 
must be put in to take off surplus water and help aerate the land. 
With a proper foundation the surface must be broken up, 
pulverized, leveled, smoothed and raked over until all large bits 
of rubbish, pebbles, stone, and other foreign matter have been 
removed. This will result in the making of a good seed bed in 
which the seed may be sown. 

The surface need not be flat like the top of a table, a rolling 
contour, indeed, gives a more natural sweep. 

Buy the best grass seed that the dealers offer and buy it by 
weight, twenty pounds to the bushel. In making a new lawn 
use five bushels to the acre. When subsequent applications of 
top dressing are made each year, one to two bushels to the acre 
may be used. Some people prefer to use three bushels to the 
acre in making a new lawn which, while it will produce a lawn, 
leaves the way open for weeds and does not give so fine a texture 
to the grass. 

Kentucky blue-grass is the recognized lawn grass. It, alone, 
has that desirable blue-green color that gives a perfect lawn. It 
is slow to germinate and to establish itself, therefore the practical 



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gardener uses a mixture containing other grasses in order to 
establish a greensward quickly, while the blue-grass is developing; 
and where the proper soil conditions prevail — alkalinity — the 
blue-grass will eventually crowd out most other grasses. 

Each seedsman has his own particular formula for his lawn 
mixture. In practice they differ In detail but not in principle, 
and generally contain about thirty per cent. Kentucky blue- 
grass, thirty per cent. Red-top, and the balance being made of 
meadow fescue, crested dog-tails, English rye, and perhaps a few 
other grasses, varying according to circumstances. 

The rye grass germinates in a few days and quickly gives a 
green appearance to the new lawn. 

Kentucky blue-grass must have an alkaline soil. Rhode Island 
bents and meadow fescue are suited to acid and seaside soils. 

The actual use of mixtures is a much debated question and 
may vary In different places; and In practice the lawn maker will 
be well-advised to take the highest grade lawn mixture offered by 
reliable seedsmen. These mixtures are varied in their composi- 
tion somewhat for shaded places or for clay soils, and rather than 
make these different mixtures themselves, the lawn maker would 
be better advised to place reliance upon an established seedsman 
and use the branded mixtures which are the result of long experi- 
ence and observations. 

For the Information of those who may desire to make their 
own mixtures, or have them made up to order, the following 
proved formulas are given: 

On soils of average fertility and composition, this has given 

satisfaction: 

Kentucky Blue . . . . lo quarts 

Rhode Island Bent ... 8 quarts 

English Rye .... 3 quarts 



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This is a crude, although reliable mixture. Indeed, it may 
be called a lawn mixture reduced to its simplest elements. The 
quantities given in quarts are based on thoroughly recleaned 
seeds. 

A more refined mixture, including a fancy Red-top for filling 
in during the early years of the lawn and after the English Rye 
has lived its life, is as follows : 

Fancy Kentucky Blue-grass lo lbs. 

Fancy Red-top .... 4 lbs. 

R. I. Bent 3 lbs. 

English Rye 3 lbs. 

This formula is expressed in weight and may be used as a 
fair basis of comparison with the preceding formula which is 
expressed in bulk. 

This mixture would give twenty pounds to the bushel, and 
would be sufiicient for one-fifth of an acre, say about eight thou- 
sand square feet. Fancy seed is specified in the formula both as 
regards the blue-grass and the red-top. The twenty pounds 
weight of this mixture, designated in the trade as a bushel, 
would, of course, not fill the actual measured bushel. 




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